1915 – World War I: German submarine SM U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many formerly pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.

1932 – Happy Birthday, Pete Domenici!

1994 - Norway's most famous painting, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, was recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo. The iconic 1893 painting of a waiflike figure on a bridge was stolen in only 50 seconds during a break-in on February 12. Two thieves broke through a window of the National Gallery, cut a wire holding the painting to the wall and left a note reading "Thousand thanks for the bad security!"

2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia. He celebrated by punching a polar bear, shirtless and on horseback.